Of all the successful alt-country outfits to emerge from the Northwest in recent years, Portland’s Richmond Fontaine is the most skilled at painting a melancholy, beautifully bleak portrait of people living on the edge of run-down towns, spending their days in dead-end jobs and their nights in shot-and-a-beer dives. …

Another random Video Fix today — a new poll says Americans love dogs more than cats, Obama gives a speech on airport security and the terrorism attempt over Christmas, Letterman criticized for making fun of transgender appointee to White House and SELF-POTATO! Find out what it is and who said it. …

If you’re around downtown next weekend, watch out for vampires — and giggly girls. Lexi Bates, 17, and Sam Long, 17, of Snohomish, react after meeting the two actors from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila. (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi … …